2 months ago
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A Tesla owner in California is seeking a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all other Tesla owners in the state after he says the company has been systematically altering odometers so their warranties expire faster.
Lead plaintiff Nyree Hinton said he bought a used Model Y in December 2022 with 36,772 miles on it.
But after several visits to Tesla for repairs completed under warranty, he said, he began to notice odd quirks with the odometer, which regularly overestimated his mileage by at least 15% but sometimes as much as 117%.
From March 2023 to June 2023, for instance, Hinton said, his car logged 72.35 miles per day despite him having a consistent driving routine of just 20 miles per day.
After the vehicle’s 50,000-mile basic warranty expired in July 2023, Hinton said, the odometer then began to underreport his daily usage. In April 2024, the lawsuit alleges, the Model Y reported around 50 average daily miles, despite Hinton driving a 100-mile commute two to three days a week.
The lawsuit points to similar tales shared by other Tesla owners online as the basis for class-action status.
According to the lawsuit, Tesla’s odometer system isn’t physically linked to the number of miles the vehicle has traveled, instead relying on data like energy consumption, driving behavior and predictive algorithms to estimate distance traveled.
“By tying warranty limits and lease mileage caps to inflated ‘odometer’ readings, Tesla increases repair revenue, reduces warranty obligations, and compels consumers to purchase extended warranties prematurely,” the suit said.
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Odometer fraud constitutes a federal crime, with cumulative penalties that can be applied for every instance of odometer tampering.
Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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